A wheel usually has a rim ring with a rim well, which is defined by an inner wheel flange and an outer wheel flange. The inner wheel flange and the outer wheel flange circumferentially enclose the tire, guide same and seal it airtightly by the tire walls being sealingly supported on the wheel flanges based on the internal pressure in the tire. A wheel spider or a rim disk, which establishes the connection with the axle, is arranged as a carrier element for the rim in the interior of the rim.
Many two-part wheel solutions for the manufacture of automobiles are known from the state of the art. Such two-part wheels are used especially for trucks in order to facilitate tire change. The wheels are designed for this such that the two wheel parts are detachable from each other. Each of the two wheel flanges is arranged on a different part of the two-part wheel.
Another reason for designing wheels as two-part wheels lies in the aesthetic requirements imposed on these. Thus, it is occasionally desirable to have the possibility of replacing the wheel spider with a wheel spider of a different design. Such an object is accomplished, for example, by DE 8526012U1, which proposes a rim ring with rim well as well as a wheel spider arranged detachably on this. The wheel spider is fastened to the rim ring by the spider ends extending behind corresponding counterpieces on the rim ring in the manner of a bayonet catch and are fixed under these with bolts. Another embodiment describes that the wheel may be a two-part wheel, wherein each part has a wheel flange and wherein the two parts of the wheel are connected by said bayonet catch-like coupling.
The solution according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,292 B1, in which two wheel parts made of fiber composite, each of which has a wheel flange and a part of the wheel spider, mesh with one another with ideal (complementary) shape on the sides facing one another, serves the purpose of reducing the weight. A number of recesses on the inner wheel part is located opposite an ideally shaped number of teeth on the outer wheel part. The five spokes of the wheel spider have a rectangular cross section and are hollow and are formed by the base, which is provided by the inner wheel part, and a trilateral counterpiece, which is provided by the outer wheel part. The two wheel parts are held together by bolt connections, as well as by the wheel retaining nuts, which hold both wheel parts.
WO 1997/13647 A1 describes a two-part wheel, in which each wheel part likewise has a wheel flange and a part of the wheel spider, for an especially cost-effective vehicle design. The two wheel parts have contact surfaces facing each other, which have ideally shaped elevations and depressions meshing with one another. The two wheel parts are held together by click and bonded connection as well as by rivets. Moreover, the lug nuts also hold the two parts together in the mounted state. The wheel is preferably made of fiber-reinforced plastic and is said to be especially lightweight. The two wheel parts are bonded to one another over the entire surface in the mounted state. The rim well is formed by a projecting edge of the inner wheel part, which meshes with a corresponding groove of the outer wheel part due to click connection.
Wheels are subject to different, high stresses. These stresses occur to a lesser extent during the simple acceleration or braking operations or during the typical rolling operation and they rather occur when the wheels meet obstacles. This is especially critical when the wheels are not stressed indirectly via the tires but are stressed directly laterally. Such stresses occur, e.g., when hitting curbstones. The prior-art wheel designs can respond to these stresses only poorly. Furthermore, it is problematic to design the complex shape of an automobile wheel in a cost-effective and effective manner.